Profit Matters 4-13-2022
President Biden is turning to the aid of biofuels to help lower prices at the pump.
During a visit to POET Bioprocessing in Menlo, Iowa on Tuesday, Biden announced an emergency waiver that will allow summertime sales of E15, a move that Iowa?s Congressional Delegation and farm and biofuel groups have been seeking for quite some time.
?Today, I?m announcing that the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to issue an emergency waiver to allow E15 gasoline ? that uses more ethanol from home-grown crops ? to be sold across the United States this summer in order to increase fuel supply,? the President said.
Biden touted the benefits of the E15 fuel blend.
?E15 is about 10 cents per gallon cheaper than E10 and some gas stations offer an even bigger discount than that,? said Biden. ?But many of the gas stations that sell it here in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania are required to stop selling it during the summer. But with this waiver, on June 1 you are not going to show up to your local gas station and see a bag over the pump that has the cheapest gas. You are going to be able to keep filling up with E15 and it’s going to solve a whole problem.?
The President?s announcement comes as his administration has faced increased pressure to lower energy prices. The country is also dealing with record inflation. The current nationwide average of gas is $4.08 per gallon, according to AAA.
?It?s going to help some people and I am committed to do whatever I can to help, even if it?s an extra buck or two in the pockets when they fill up that will make a difference in people?s lives,? said Biden. ?Even though E15 is only available in a few thousand pumps today, we?re investing more than $100 million to build biofuel infrastructure of the future. Things like blender pumps ? the gas pumps that can handle higher blends of bioethanol and diesel fuel.?
Biden?s E15 announcement was lauded by biofuel groups. Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor told IARN the move was a long time coming, and that farmers are here to help lower gas prices.
?This is great news,? said Skor. ?It?s very nice to see the administration recognize what we have long known which is in the conversation today about energy independence, about reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, about having low-cost options at the pump, ethanol is the solution. It?s great to see the White House send a very strong signal that they stand squarely behind more use of biofuels, and they understand that E15 is going to keep prices down at the pump.?
Skor?s comments were echoed by Monte Shaw, executive director of the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.
?It?s great news for consumers,? said Shaw. ?E15 in Iowa typically runs 10-30 cents per gallon less. And this is great news for farmers because we need that demand. It?s also great news for the air because E15 reduces smog forming emissions. The only people who seem to be upset today are the oil guys, but I filled up at the gas station recently and they are doing okay so they are just going to have to not win this one.?
Back in 2019, then-President Donald Trump allowed E15 to be sold year-round, but that action was struck down in federal court. Biden?s visit to Menlo was his first trip to Iowa since his presidential campaign in 2020.
